The MySpace candidate

Thursday

Mar 6, 2008 at 9:13 AMMar 6, 2008 at 1:21 PM

By BEAU YARBROUGH

It used to be one of the ways to spot a future city council candidate: A new face would begin turning up at meetings, taking notes and studying the process and the issues before formally declaring candidacy.

You won't see Rochelle Garner there at most meetings. She's at home, taking care of her one year old son. But that doesn't mean she isn't attending them: Like hundreds of other residents, Garner is watching Hesperia City Council meetings online.

That's appropriate for Garner, who's studying the city council via Webcasts from the city's official Web site, in preparation for her campaign for Hesperia city councilwoman later this year. And she's kicked off her campaign on MySpace.

"I think this city has so much potential, and I don't think it's being reached," she said. "I see a lot of other thing hat can be improved. They need a young person like me who will be there with new ideas."

At 45 years old, Tad Honeycutt is the youngest current member of the Hesperia City Council, although he is not expected to run for reelection this year. If Garner is elected, she will be more than 20 years younger than the second-youngest council member, 50-year-old Mayor Pro Tem Thurston "Smitty" Smith.

Garner has always been precocious: She graduated Hesperia High School in 1995 at the age of 16.

Today, she works for ICON Real Estate Solutions, is the mother of two children and is married to the owner of a plumbing company.

Garner said she has been thinking of running for office for two years, but recent events have finally made her take the leap.

"What finally gave me the final little nudge is the trucking and RV changes," Garner said. She and her husband own a 28-foot trailer and a Ford F-550 truck. "A couple years ago, I sold a house to a friend, and that was his requirement: truck parking.

"Everyone I know is going to be affected by it."

Garner estimates there are four or five people on her street who either drive trucks for a living or own a recreational vehicle.

"And having two cops chase dirt bikers is just ridiculous," she said. "Those cops could be used to catch taggers or something more useful. ... We have cops here patrolling private land."

There are thousands of Hesperians with pages on MySpace.com, and Garner is reaching out to all of them a few at a time, and letting them know about her campaign.

"Most of it's been pretty positive," she said of the response.

In addition to the dialogue on her MySpace page (MySpace.com/RochelleGarner2008), Garner is reaching out to voters on her regular Web page (RochelleForHesperia.com), running polls on community issues and asking for feedback.

"I haven't seen anyone reaching out to the public and asking what they want," Garner said.

Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com.